The present invention relates to methods of working friable materials, and, more particularly, it relates to a method and apparatus for disintegrating materials, for instance, ores of ferrous and non-ferrous metals.
The invention can be utilized by various industries where raw materials are worked, e.g. by the mining industry, metallurgy of ferrous and non-ferrous metals, the chemical industry, etc.
Processes of crushing and grinding friable materials are broadly utilized by various industries using raw materials and working them by various methods in all types of equipment.
The most widely utilized technique of disintegrating or reducing a material is its autogenous reduction in a confined space, e.g. in a rotating drum. According to this technique, lumps of the material are lifted in the vessel to a certain height, to fall therefrom by gravity and thus to disintegrate themselves.
A whole range of mills has been created, utilizing this technique.
A disadvantage of the method of autogenous disintegration of a material is its inherent relatively low specific throughput and inadequate efficiency. This is explained by the fact that the material is to be lifted to a certain height, so as to supply it with an amount of energy sufficient for its self-disintegration.
There is also known a method of disintegrating a material accelerated in a centrifugal bowl-shaped rotor and directed against deflection plates effecting its disintegration.
However, this method has a number of disadvantages. Among them is relatively high energy consumption, and also excessive wear of the assemblies and components of the structure, having to withstand impact loads.